People who see a dog kept on a chain, a poisoned cat or a video of an animal being mistreated often do not know whom to turn to, or what the law says. That is why we created Pet Law, the Animal Law Italia project that helps anyone use the law to protect animals: report animal cruelty, ask our lawyers, understand what to do case by case.
Pet Law is free, ad-free and does not sell your data. It is funded by donations from people who believe in Animal Law Italia’s work.
👉 Go to petlaw.it (the site is in Italian; the cruelty report form also has an English version)
Report animal cruelty
The Segnala un maltrattamento (report animal cruelty) form is open to everyone, including people who do not hold the Tessera. It has two routes: «Di persona» (in person), for what you have seen with your own eyes, and «Online», for posts, videos and ads on social media, the cases we follow with our Pescato in Rete campaign. It guides you one step at a time: where and when, which animals, what you saw, photos and links. You confirm your email address with a code and the report reaches our legal team.
- It is not a criminal complaint: we read it and decide how to act, which may include filing a complaint.
- Your name is never given to the person you report.
- For online content you do not need to be a witness: the link is enough.
- We can only file complaints in Italy for events that took place in Italy.
If an animal is in danger right now, call 112.
For visitors to Italy there is also an English version, Report animal cruelty: the team replies in English. More on how it works on our page Report animal cruelty.
On WhatsApp too
You can also report on WhatsApp: write REPORT (or SEGNALA in Italian) to +39 379 155 5556. The Pet Law assistant asks you the same questions as the form, one at a time, and at the end sends you a summary to check before you send it. The service is experimental: Animal Law Italia is the first organisation in Italy to collect animal cruelty reports through a chatbot. It is not an emergency number: for that, call 112.
Got a question? Write to the legal team
If the guides are not enough, people who support Animal Law Italia with the Tessera can put a question directly to our lawyers through Scrivi al team legale (write to the legal team, in Italian) and receive a written answer. The ALI Tessera lasts one year and you can renew it whenever you like, with no automatic payments. We explained how the service works, and what we cannot do, in this article (in Italian).
The law, case by case
On Pet Law you will find more than thirty guides (in Italian) explaining what the law says and what you can do, situation by situation: from abandonment to dogs kept on chains, from a dog left in a car in summer to cat colonies, from poisoned baits to electric collars, through to how to document cruelty so that the authorities can actually use it. They are up to date with Law no. 82/2025 on offences against animals.
Alongside the guides there are template letters prepared by our legal team: to the building manager, to the local police or the Carabinieri, to the local health authority’s (ASL) veterinary service, to the municipality about a cat colony, to a landlord about keeping an animal in a rented home. You fill in the fields, read it through and send it; what you write stays in your browser. The section is completed by frequently asked questions, useful emergency numbers and news about changes in the law.
Learning and playing: for children, teenagers and schools
Respect for animals is learnt from an early age. In the Area bambini (children’s area) there are quizzes, choose-your-path stories and colouring pages with Pepe and Micia, Pet Law’s dog and cat, and with Salvo the lobster; for secondary school students, mock trials inspired by real cases. Teachers will find in the Per le scuole (for schools) page quizzes from primary to secondary school, lesson ideas for civic education and printable kits, to be used in class without an account and without any data collection.
There is also The Cats Next Door, Rete Felina’s free game that teaches how to look after a colony of free-living cats, and the Prima di adottare (before adopting) path, with a quiz to find out whether you are ready and an estimate of how much an animal costs in a year.
Your animals’ record book
With a free account you also get a digital health record book: a profile for each animal with microchip, vet, medicines, vaccinations and documents, email reminders before deadlines, a summary of veterinary expenses for the Italian 730 tax return, and sharing with your family. If you photograph the old paper record book, we transcribe the vaccinations and visits for you.
Two tools help in difficult moments. Smarrito? (lost?) gives you, in one minute, a search page, a tag with a QR code and a poster in five languages; whoever finds your animal can write to you without seeing your contact details. Se mi succede qualcosa (if something happens to me) records who will look after your animals and what they need to know.
The record book is also free for associations, shelters and cat sanctuaries: all the animals in their care in one place, volunteers in the team, and the complete profile passed on to the adopting family. Information is on the Per le associazioni (for associations) page.
The app for iPhone, iPad and Android is coming to the App Store and Google Play; in the meantime everything already works on petlaw.it, and you will sign in to the app with the same account.
Tell people who live with an animal, the volunteers you know and your children’s teachers about Pet Law: the more people know how to use the law, the more animals are protected.
Support Pet Law
Pet Law is free and ad-free thanks to the people who support Animal Law Italia. You can help us with the ALI Tessera, with a donation or, at no cost to you if you file a tax return in Italy, by allocating your 5×1000 to Animal Law Italia: in your tax return, sign in the box for Third Sector organisations registered in the RUNTS and enter the tax code 93470670725.
Pet Law’s guides provide general information and are not a substitute for advice from a professional.